Australia lost 20,000 public housing units in a decade, study finds

Abstract

State and territory governments have presided over the loss of more than 20,000 public housing units in a decade, marking a “considerable change” as control over social housing is increasingly handed to non-profits.

A new study, released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) on Thursday, found the declining number of publicly owned homes was offset by a 55,470 increase in homes run by non-profit providers.

Although overall social housing, which includes government and non-profit run stock, increased by about 27,401 – or about 6% – over the 10 years to 2017-18, the study found the increase had “not kept pace with the growth in households”.